1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the field of the present invention is laser material processing. More particularly, the present invention relates to the uniform heating of a target.
2. Background
Laser systems have enjoyed application to a variety of fields for many years. As transistor and display technologies have advanced over the past few decades, transistor sizes have decreased and LED outputs have increased. Laser systems, and their application to the manufacturing processes of semiconductor materials and electronic devices, have allowed the continued advancement in these areas. Lasers may be used in complex thermal transfer processes, such as laser induced thermal imaging, or may be used more generally to apply predictable heat flux to a variety of target surfaces. For example, laser systems are often important in the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuit packages where a uniform application of heat is desirable. Also, different integrated circuit packages tend to have different sizes or patterns and corresponding heating characteristics. To provide processing beams for differently sized targets, separate systems or optical elements must be used, adding expense and bulk to the assembly process. Thus, despite the needs in industry for particular heat applications, and for different chip sizes, laser systems have not been developed to accommodate them.